On these two Eilean. Rec releases from Antiope, and Monolyth & Cobalt respectively, the generic ambient listener’s achilles heel is buckled. Tension gives way to surefire emotion, and the listener is overwhelmed with love…
Let us start with Monolyth and Cobalt. Said to be the last music the duo release under the name, the affair here is a triumph. Microtone melodies cluster like The Green Kingdom’s Michael Cottone experiments, especially on “North Way”, track six. The gentle clink and crinkle of harmony against motif midriff powers into itself through repetitive roughage. The very fibres of your being are set alight by the cluster effect, like it has supernatural power over us and reactivate an antibody that is a pathogen for positive action.
The 17 track M&C LP is a big size to muster words on, but one that rewards with every honest hearing. The ultimate decision about size is honesty, because size is so important to predict the scope of an effort. It also quantifies its basis. What it is about, what it says, why it is saying it. In this product, the focus is on experiments with partial song structures, but junctures that are quite abstracted. Like Haruki Murakami novelist, they speak a abstract emotional language. Very rare and exceedingly good in this case.
Yet this is no unhealthy Mr. Kipling cake of a record. In the same way that snacks and meals are ultimately based on proteins (fullness), carbs (energy) and fibres (expulsion potential), the gate objective becomes clear. Monolyth and Cobalt are working with abstraction to create size, not the other way round. And this is where they succeed on a fine ultimatum to their artistic careers.
Next is the Antiope release. Much more compact and richly woven, less tawdry feathers transformed into sophistication. It’s the vocals that really do this for me personally. The tone is less wandering, more purposefully optimistic; slightly pedantic. Mood unites the two releases, as does tempo. It’s no wonder Eilean Rec picked this stuff up. I really like what I hear from the two albums, and the irregularity of their comparability in particular.
The Antiope has a specific gentility to its calming down moments. The tension fills the heart with charm rather than unease. Another notch to the bow of Antiope, and in the same way, a pathogen – for caring, for humility, for the size of space. Another winning 2 albums for Eilean – Recommended!